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Local Marketing & PR :: Internet

Building a Successful Website

Start by asking yourself these questions:

To help ensure that you receive a return on your investment when you embark on a Web engagement, refer to the following Web marketing strategy known as Audience Development. Audience Development consists of the following elements:

Search Engine Optimization (SEO)

The process of improving quality traffic to a website from search engines via organic (non-paid) results is known as search engine optimization (SEO). The higher a website ranks "organically" in search results, the greater the chance that the site will be visited by a user. Most people do not click through pages and pages of search results, but rather limit themselves to the first 5 pages – so where a site ranks is essential for directing more qualified traffic toward the site. SEO can also target different kinds of search, including image search, local search and industry-specific vertical search engines.

How to optimize your Website:

Understanding Meta Tags

Each page of your website will need a Title. Once you have titled the page, you will need to add the Description and Keywords tags underneath the Title Tag. You can add/edit these meta tags by using an HTML editor such as Adobe Dreamweaver or Note Pad. If your website is built in a content management system, you may be able to modify the meta tags without directly accessing the code. The code below is provided as an example:

<html>
<head>
<title>Title of page</title>
<meta name=”description” content=”What is this page about”>
<meta name=”keywords” content=”What, words, describe, this, page,”>
</head>

Example of optimizing a page:

Title: <title>Heating and Cooling Systems – Bryant</title>

Description: <meta name=”description” content=”Bryant heating and cooling systems endure vigorous testing to ensure quality, durability and comfort.” />

Keywords: <meta name=”keywords” content=”heating and cooling systems, heating cooling, heating and cooling unit, heating and cooling supply, heating and cooling equipment, Bryant heating and cooling, central heating and cooling, Bryant heating and cooling system, home heating and cooling, home heating cooling system” />

As mentioned above, not all meta tags are directly visible to a user. The title and description tend to be the tags that are most often seen by a user when they are searching. The keywords are in the code of the page and not viewable unless you view the HTML source code.

Meta Tag Relevancy: All of the above meta tags must be relevant to each other and the content displayed on the page. A search engine will not prioritize a page if the tags do not correspond to the content on the page.

Optimizing your site for local searches requires additional expertise. We recommend that you enlist the assistance of an SEO expert if you would like to optimize your website for local searches.

Search Engine Marketing (SEM)

Search Engine Marketing, or SEM, is buying keywords or phrases that guarantees paid placement in search engine results. Priced on a Cost-Per-Click basis, keyword prices can range from $.10 - $5.00+. Some of the major Search Engines that offer SEM:

There are many other search engines available, but they tend to be powered by Bing or Google.

Why SEM?

SEM offers extremely fast, flexible, accurate and measurable advertising, which leads to the best cost effectiveness in lead generation advertising.

SEM Benefits:

Market reach, cost effectiveness, high resolution tracking, timing and flexibility can be affected quickly with paid search advertising. Paid search programs such as Google Adwords, Yahoo! and Bing provide organizations with a local-to-global high volume market reach while maintaining control over the individual keyword cost per click, overall spend and advertising zones and times. Flexibility of changing ads, rules and campaign settings almost immediately enables sophisticated marketers to maximize profitability.

Set-Up:

Where will your ad appear?

Locations:

Google My Business

Attract local customers searching for what you offer. Where do people look for local businesses like yours? Online. With Google My Business, Google delivers your company information across the Google search network.

Your company can be listed with Google My Business without setting up Adwords, or you can use Adwords to feature your business listing. With AdWords, you pick keywords that describe your business. When users search for those keywords on Google Maps, your ads are eligible to appear directly on the map along with an image related to your business.

Control your budget. Pay only for results. AdWords has no minimum spending requirement – the amount you pay for AdWords is up to you. You can, for instance, set a daily budget of five dollars and a maximum cost of ten cents for each click on your ad.

Getting started is easy. If you already have an AdWords account, just make sure your business is listed accurately in Google Maps. Once you're listed, you'll be ready to create your own local business ads.

Google My Business also allows you simply to create your free business listing. When potential customers search Maps for local information, they'll find your business: your address, hours of operation, even photos of your storefront or products. It's easy, free, and you don't need a website of your own.

  1. Go to: http://business.google.com/
  2. Login by using your Google Account
    • Note: If you do not have a Google Account, you can sign up for free. To create a Google Account, click on "Create a New Google Account"
  3. Click on "Start Now"
  4. Enter the required information:
    • Country
    • Company/Organization
    • Street Address
    • City/Town
    • State
    • Zip Code
  5. Click on "Next"
  6. Click on "Add Listing"
  7. Next, add the category that is related to your business
  8. Add Hours of Operation (If necessary)
  9. Add Payment Options (If necessary)
  10. Add Photos (If necessary)
  11. Add Videos (If necessary)
  12. Add Additional Details (If necessary)
  13. Click on "Submit"

Yahoo! Local:

Yahoo! Local is a comprehensive business directory for cities complete with ratings and reviews, maps, events and more. Yahoo! Local has business reviews, top rated services and events near your location. Use interactive maps, driving directions, reviews and ratings to help users find the closest service.

How to Add Your Business Location to Yahoo Local Search:

  1. Go to: http://local.yahoo.com
  2. At the bottom of the page, click on "Add a Business"
  3. Enter the required information:
    • Business Name
    • Address
    • City
    • State
    • Zip
    • Phone Number
    • Website URL
    • Add Additional Information (If Needed)
  4. Click "Submit"

How to Add Your Business Location to YellowPages.com